Alba Fucens (mod. Albe), an ancient Italian town occupying a lofty situation (3347 feet) at the foot of the Monte Velino, 4 miles north of Avezzano. Avezzano is a town and comune in the Abruzzo region, Province of LAquila, 70 km east of Rome. ...

Alba Fucens in front of Monte Velino. June 2003.

It was originally a town of the Aequi, though on the frontier of the Marsi, but was occupied by a Roman colony (304 BC) owing to its strategic importance. It lay on a hill just to the north of the Via Valeria, which was probably prolonged beyond Tibur at this very period. In the Second Punic War Alba at first remained faithful, but afterwards refused to send contingents and was punished. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 411 KB)From personal photo collection I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 411 KB)From personal photo collection I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The Aequi were an ancient people of Italy, whose name occurs constantly in Livys first decade as hostile to Rome in the first three centuries of the citys existence. ... Silver denarius of the Marsian Confederation, during the Social War (89 BC). ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 309 BC 308 BC 307 BC 306 BC 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301... Via Valeria, an ancient Roman road of Italy was the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina. ... Combatants Roman Republic Carthage Commanders Publius Cornelius Scipio†, Tiberius Sempronius Longus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Gaius Flaminius†, Fabius Maximus, Claudius Marcellus†, Lucius Aemilius Paullus†, Gaius Terentius Varro, Marcus Livius Salinator, Gaius Claudius Nero, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†, Masinissa, Minucius+, Geminus+, Regulus+ Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca†, Mago Barca†, Hasdrubal Gisco†, Maharbal...

After this it became a regular place of detention for important state, prisoners, such as Syphax of Numidia, Perseus of Macedonia, Bituitus, king of the Arverni. It was attacked by the allies in the Social War, but remained faithful to Rome; and its strong position rendered it a place of some importance in the civil wars. Its prosperity, in the imperial period, can only be inferred from the number of inscriptions found there. For the Canadian mountain see Mount Syphax Syphax was a king of the Masaesyles in western Numidia. ... Coin of Perseus of Macedon Perseus was a king of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. ... A map of Gaul in the 1st century BC, showing the relative position of the Arverni tribe. ... Template:Campaignbox Social War This article is about the conflict between Rome and her allies between 91 and 88 BC The Social War (also called the Italian War or the Marsic War, Social come from Socii meaning ¨Allies¨) was a war from 91 – 88 BC between the Roman Republic and...

It is chiefly remarkable for its finely preserved fortifications. The external walls, which have a circuit of about two miles, are constructed of polygonal masonry; the blocks are carefully jointed, and the faces smoothed. With our present knowledge of such constructions their date cannot certainly be determined. They are not preserved to any very considerable height; but the arrangement of the gates is clearly traceable; as a rule they come at the end of a long, straight stretch of wall, and are placed so as to leave the right side of any attacking force exposed. On the north there is, for a length of about 150 yards, a triple line of defences of later date (possibly added by the Roman colonists), inasmuch as both the city wall proper, and the double wall thrown out in front of it are partly constructed of concrete, and facet with finer polygonal masonry (in which horizontal joints iseem to be purposely avoided). Polygonal masonry is a technique of stone construction of the ancient Mediterranean world. ... Polygonal masonry is a technique of stone construction of the ancient Mediterranean world. ...

A mile to the north of the city a huge mound with a ditch on each side of it (but at a considerable distance from it) may be traced; for a couple of miles. Within the walls there are hardly any buildings of a later date. Excavations have only been made casually, though remains of buildings and of roads can be traced, and also an extensive system of underground passages perhaps connected with the defences of the place. The hill at the western extremity was occupied by a temple of the Tuscan order, into which was built the church of S. Pietro; this contains ancient columns, and some remarkably fine specimens of Cosmatesque work. It is the only monastic church in the Abruzzi in which the nave is separated from the aisles by ancient columns. Categories: Regions of Italy | Abruzzo ...

The collegiate church of S. Nicola, in the village, contains a remarkable staurotheca of the 11th (?) century, and a wooden triptych in imitation of the Byzantine style with enamels, of the 13th century. The Raising of the Cross, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp A triptych (from the Greek tri- three + ptychē fold) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together. ... The most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople - the image of Christ Pantocrator on the walls of the upper southern gallery. ...

A very good description of the site, with plans, is given by Carlo Promis, L'Antiquité di Alba Fucense (Rome 1816). Carlo Promis (born 1808; died 1876 at Turin, Italy) was an Italian architect and architectural historian and a proponent of Ecclecticism. ...

Excavations

In the twentieth century the Belgian academy at Rome carried out excavations at the site, under the direction of Joseph Mertens. This project led to a series of publications of the site and its remains.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...